Cost
by Mirror and Image
Summary: [Complete] Lina and Zelgadiss are on their way to find a cure for the stone chimera. But the cure comes with a cost that neither truly expects. Is it worth it?
1. Part One

**Cost**  
by M & I

* * *

Zelgadiss crawled a few feet down the duct and dropped the last thirty, landing nimbly on his feet. It was a small room he was in now, barely enough room to stand in and only about ten feet in length and width. It was entirley empty except for a small alter holding a large tome. That was what he wanted. It had been his goal since he had started his journey almost a year ago.

Zel was totally oblivious to Amelia and Gourry as they fell in a heap behind him; a large tangle of arms and legs. Lina came down more gracefully, only peeking her head through the ceiling duct they had come through. "Is it here?" she asked, looking around.

Zel didn't answer as he stared at the book. It was to good to be true, he was afraid to touch it. He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the ancient cover, delicately wiping the dust away before finally picking it up. "It's within my grasp," he said to himself. He quickly sat down on the cool floor and started to flip through the pages.

His cure was in here somewhere. He just had to find it.

* * *

Lina didn't want to come into the room, the size was way to small for four people. Especially now that Zel had decided it was a good time to sit down. Gourry and Amelia were still trying to figure out who'd leg was where, leaving even less room. She'd just stay up here, thank you.

Lina craned her neck, trying to get a good look at the book Zel was reading. She'd promised to let him have it first, but it didn't hurt if she saw a few of the spells in advance. Zel turned the pages slowly, careful not to damage anything as he read through the leafs of paper quickly; reading what was important and skimming the rest. Lina hoped the cure was in there. The poor guy needed a break after being a chimera for so long. There was an ouch yelped and Lina turned to see Amelia and Gourry finally break apart.

"No." Lina blinked as she turned to Zelgadiss. Did she hear right?

"No." H said it again, this time grabbing Amelia and Gourry's attention as well. Zel's shoulders were shaking as he stared at the old tome, his eyes shut tight in disbelief.

"No. No. No. No! No!" Zel let out a cry of rage, shaking his arms to the ceiling in protest.

"What's the matter Zelgadiss-san?" asked Amelia innocently.

"It's a _cookbook_! I spent over a year searching for a lousy cookbook!"

"Uh, why would you bee looking for a cookbook?" asked Gourry. He was promptly answered by the book imbedding itself in his face.

"I was looking for my cure!" Zel shouted in anger. "I've _been_ searching for it for I don't know how long and all I find is a cookbook!" Seaking to release his rage he kicked the alter over, smashing it to pieces.

"Well, if you don't want it can I have it?" asked Gourry again. "I've always been great at eating it might be good if I tried cooking."

"Gourry-san!" shouted Amelia in surpise. "How can you be so inconsiderate? Zelgadiss-san just lost another possible cure for himself and you--"

"Fireball!" Lina crawled back into the duct just in time as the room erupted in flames. This time Lina landed inside the room. Gourry and Amelia were in another heap in a corner, all brown and crispy. Zel merely stood there, his face stone cold.

"Now wait a sec Zel!" Lina said sternly. "Be careful what you throw around here!" Before she could continue Zel glared at her and summoned a Ray Wing, flying up the duct they had enter and exiting the scene. "Zel!" Lina called after him. "Zel, wait up!" She glanced to Gourry and Amelia. "Are you guys okay?" One of them moaned in reply. "Great, I'll meet you at the inn, be right back! Ray Wing!" Lina flew up after Zelgadiss.

* * *

It took longer than she thought to find him. Lina'd figured he'd just smash his way through everything like it looked he was going to do. But it took a while to find a tace of him, let alone track him. Lina finally caught up with the chimera on a lonely patch of river. It was already late at night, the moon was high in the sky.

Zel was sitting on the riverbank, staring blankly into the water. He was alone except for a long dead tree behind him, covering him in its shadow. Lina landed softly a few feet in back of him, unsure what to expect. She'd seen him mad before, she'd even seen him go beserk once or twice, but he'd never actually attacked his friends. This whole chimera business was starting to get to him, and he wasn't even bothering to hide it. It was totally out of character for him, and Lina didn't like it one bit.

The sorceress walked up slowly, not really sure what to do.

"Just leave me alone Lina," Zel said in reply to her silent question.

"But Zel--"

"I mean it, Lina. Leave me alone."

"Zel, I just wanted to--"

"Go away!"

"But--"

"My my." Both Lina and Zel looked up in surprise to see Xellos looking down on them from the dead tree. He laughed blandly as his smile grew from ear to ear. "My my," he said again. "How the mighty have fallen."

"Xellos, what the hell're you doing here?" Lina yelled. He didn't get a chance to anwer, however. Zel had unsheathed his sword and leapt up to the Mazoku priest, ready to cut that smile off his annoying face. Xellos of course teleported out of the way; but as soon as he started to fade, Zel called up a spell and fired it right where Xellos next appeared. Zel continued to cast spell after spell, releasing his fury on the now defensive Mazoku. His normally bland face was caught up in a look of surpise. Even his eyes were open in shock. The preist had not expected such fast action from the chimera. Zelgadiss was giving him a run for his money.

Zel meanwhile was barely aware of how fast he was. All he cared was that Xellos had the audacity, the gual to show up after everything that Zel had been through just to laugh at him. Well, no one was going to laugh at him today. Not ever again. "Dill Brand!" The Mazoku jumped aside and Zel saw his chance. He threw a Gaav Flare at the priest and turned a one-eighty on his heel, drawing his sword again in one fluid motion and grabbed the priest's collar just as he appeared. Zel threw him against the tree and held him there, his sword at the monster's throat.

"Zel, what do you think you're doing?" That was Lina, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"You," he said through gritted teeth. "You ruined my life. You screwed up my chances at getting the Claire Bible, you pulled me along like I was some sort of puppet. You give me little bits of information knowing that I'll bite. You tripped me up and humiliated me at every turn. And now, after a year of screwing around with me while I looked for that book, you have the nerve to laugh at me to my face?" Xellos by now had returned his bland look to his face. He put his hand to his chin and took on a slightly pensive look.

"Did I really do all that?" he asked, almost to himself. Zel felt his anger flare, and he pressed his sword tighter to the Mazoku's throat.

"Well, I guess I did," the priest said happily. "Was that wrong?"

"You son of a--"

"Zelgadiss! Let him go before you kill him!" Lina interupted again. In truth, she'd thoroughly enjoyed watching Xellos' head handed to him. But enough was enough. Things were getting serious.

Zel turned back to Xellos, still tightly in his grasp. "If I ever, and I mean _ever_ see you again, I _will_ kill you."

"Oh yes," the preist said cheerily. "I understand perfectly, honest. But we're such good friends, why would we want to stop seeing each other?"

Zelgadiss was pushed over th edge with that one. In a cry of rage he swiped his blade down on Xellos' head. He cleaved the tree in half, but the Mazoku had teleported away, laughing merrily. Zel lowered his head, taking slow deep breaths.

* * *

Lina stared at the chimera. "Zel?" she asked quietly. The swordsman replied by raising his weapon and pointing it to Lina. His eyes were a blank stare. "Uh, Zel?" The ivory-clad form advanced slowly, his sword still pointed to his adversary. Lina gulped. After watching him beat Xellos like he did, she suddenly wasn't sure how she'd fare against him. She started a Ray Wing but Zel stopped. The chimera dropped his sword to the ground and took his place at the river bank as if nothing had happened.

"Please just go away," he whispered pleadingly.

Lina in reply sat down next to him, watching the river go by.

"Why do I bother asking?" he asked rhetorically.

"Because I actually am going to leave you alone."

"Yeah right," he said flatly.

"Oh shut up and listen alright. I want to say something first before I go. Can you deal with that?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Glad you see it my way." Lina picked up a rock and threw it into the river, watching the ripples grow. "Look, you've never actually turned your spell on me or the others. But today you fireball Gourry and Amelia and hand Xellos his head and almost turned that sword of yours on me. You've never been a person to talk but you obviously need to talk and soon. You've always been anti-social, but now you're getting downright destructive."

"It's good to know you have such a high opinion of me," Zel interjected dryly.

Lina resisted the urge to smack him. "What I am _trying_ to say is that all this anger and mistrust and stuff that you've been leting build up is spilling over. You need some kinda release. Knowing you, you're not gonna talk tonight though."

"How perceptive."

"BUT I fully expect you to talk to me over breakfast tomorrow okay? Now take a good look, this is me leaving you alone like you wanted. Happy now?" Lina got up and walked up the bank, throwing her red hair over her shoulder.

Zel listened to her small foot steps. "Lina," he called after her. She paused, looking back to Zel. Zel opened his mouth, trying to say something, but closed it again and looked back to the water. Lina shrugged and walked away. After making absolutely sure she was out of earshot, he whispered, "Thank you for being the only one who cares." Zelgadiss picked up his sword and looked at the horrid reflection in the blade.

"Could it really be that easy?"

* * *

Lina yawned as she walked down the stairs to the dining area of the inn. Gourry and Amelia were already eating as Lina sat down. Lina had had a long night and slept later than she normally would have liked. She ordered her breakfast and started to fight Gourry for it. She did notice, however, that something was missing.

"Hey," she said between mouthfuls. She pushed Gourry away from a large danish. "Have either of you seen Zel?" Gourry grabed a piece of the danish and Lina punched him across the room. Amelia looked at Lina.

"Come to think of it," she said. "No. And I've been up since dawn fighting the evil that will always lose to just-owww" Amelia rubbed her head where Lina had smacked her.

"So you didn't see Zel?"

"No, Zelgadiss-san hasn't come down and I assume he'd rather be alone right now," Amelia replied. Lina sighed and finished fighting Gourry for her meal. She went to the innkeeper.

"Excuse me, sir," she said politely. "Do you know which room a friend of mine took last night?" The innkeeper thought for a moment.

"You shared the room with that other girl, and you blond companion was across the hall. I thought you knew that," he replied.

"Another friend was supposed to come last night. He should have been wearing ivory, had a long sword, maybe a hood and mask…" the innkeeper shook his head.

"I haven't seen anyone fitting that description. I'm sorry miss." Lina thanked him and went outside. _Damn him! He must have gone off on his own again!_ It was so annoying when he did that. Why couldn't he just accept that they wanted to help him?

"Ray Wing!" she said, taking off. The crowd beneath her looked up in shock. She ignored them and flew to the river where she saw Zel last night. She landed on the dead tree and took in the surroundings. She didn't like what she saw. She hopped to the ground and picked up Zel's sword. It was broken. "ZEL!" she called. She ran to the river edge in surprise. Face down in the water was Zel's limp form. Lina dove in and pulled him to shore. It was no easy task. He was heavy.

Once on shore, she looked him over. His heart was still beating, but he wasn't breathing. There were no signs of attack. _Did he do this to himself?_ she thought as she breathed air into his lungs. He finally took a labored breath and Lina sighed in relief. "Okay, Recovery!" Lina figured Zel would be out for a while anyway, so she, with great effort, pulled up up and carried him back to the inn, complaining every step of the way on how heavy he was.

* * *

Zel opened his eyes. _Damn it. It didn't work_, he thought. He looked over and saw Lina getting a cold cloth ready for him. She was about to put it on his forehead when he slapped her as hard as he could across her face. She held her cheek in shock. Gourry and Amelia must have just come in.

"Hey Zel!" Gourry protested. "If you do that again, as Lina's bodyguard, I'm going to have to stop you!" Zelgadiss's anger rose

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" he shouted. "The cures that don't work, the stares, the jibes, I'm just a freak! I am so tired of it all! I'd be better off not living!

"If you're tired why don't you take a nap?" Gourry replied. Amelia facefaulted. Zelgadiss merely sweatdroped and tried to keep his temper in check.

"Gourry-san!" Amelia yelled. "Don't you see? Zelgadiss-san must be possessed by a Mazoku! There is no other reason why he would try seppuku." She looked at him. "Never fear Zelgadiss-san!" She stood up on a chair. "With a heart filled with love and justice, you _shal_l prevail over this demon!"

"Don't you get it Amelia!" Zelgadiss shouted. "How can I have a heart filled with 'love and justice' if I don't have a heart at all!" he said mockingly. He grabbed his cloak and jumped out the window.

"Gourry-san, how could you let this happen?"

"Me? What'd I do?"

"You should have helped me purge Zelgadiss-san of that demon!"

"What?" Gourry and Amelia started a scream fest. Lina didn't pay any attention to them. She looked in shock a little while longer at the broken window.

* * *

Zel sighed as he walked through the forest alone. The trail he'd been following was old, almost swallowed up by the foliage. He'd long since given up trying to figure out where he was. He was so heck-bent on getting out of there he didn't even think of where he was going for several minutes into the run, which translated as several miles traveled.

He paused to rest, leaning against a tree. The recovery spell was still in his system, and it didn't take him long before he was walking again. Zel wasn't really sure what to do next. It had only been his first attempt, surely others would work. That is, unless this form was even more of a curse than he thought. For the moment, he didn't want to try anything. He also knew that he should keep moving. Knowing Lina, she was already on his trail, desperate to catch up with him so she could return the slap he'd given her. He was surprised Lina didn't react the second she was hit, that was unlike her. She was always the type to demolish first, question later.

Zel's thoughts were interupted as the trail started to loosen up, showing signs of a town. Zelgadiss sighed, pulling up his hood and mask as he entered the outskirts. The last thing he needed right now were people fleeing in terror. That would happen soon enough. The swordsman walked through the relatively large village, quickly blending in with the people. He wandered around for a few hours, getting a feel for things before he quietly walked into a restaurant. He sat down silently in a dark corner and called a waiter over. After ordering he pulled down his mask and buried his face in his hands, letting his thoughts take over again.

Where was he? Oh yeah, demolish first question later. That had always been Lina's motto, but when he'd slapped her she didn't do anything. No reaction whatsoever. Zel wondered what that meant. Probably nothing good. The food arrived and Zel ate slowly. Why did she do it in the first place? Heroism wasn't something that fit Lina very well, and he always questioned when she did something like that. Normally, there was an excuse, like say, Shabernigdo would kill her as well as everyone else. But this?

"Why don't you sit down Lina, you're not hiding very well," Zel called as his sixth sense kicked in. Lina walked up and looked around.

"Not a bad place Zel," she said as she sat down. "I'd come here to if I had problems. Hey waiter! I'll have triple-no, quadruple whatever he's having!" The waitor facefaulted, wondering who was picking up the tab before he went to the kitchen.

* * *

"Ask it."

"Ask what?"

"It's been hovering over the table all lunch. Ask it."

Zel sighed, knowing she was right. He wanted to know.

"Why did you save me in the river? You had nothing to gain from doing so."

Lina almost landed in her food. "Do you honestly think that I'd only save someone if there was a profit in it?"

Zel stared at her.

Lina sweatdroped "Okay, so maybe I would. But it's different with you."

"Alright. In what way?"

It was a simple enough question. But the answer was a little difficult, Lina realized as she opened her mouth several times, ready to give it to him, but paused. Now that she thought about it, considered that he'd only just last night commited both sepuku and drowning, she would have to word this carefully. Very carefully in fact.

Jeporday music ensued at a lethally slow pace as Lina tried to figure out how to answer Zel's question. She was glad she wasn't Gourry, cause if she was, the two of them'd be here for the next few decades. Lina, however, was a faster thinker.

It only took two hours.

Zelgadiss meanwhile waited patiently, debating on wether or not the wait was a good thing. It could mean that she was trying to be considerate of his feelings and wording it carefully. Knowing how Lina thinked, however, made the theory unlikely. More probable was the fact that she couldn't come up with anything and thinking up a few excuses to cover herself. He'd seen her do it before, though she normally didn't take nearly as long.

Lina finally opened her mouth. "First of all, I wouldn't just save someone for money." A blaten lie. Lina was off to a bad start. "Second off, there are plenty of reasons as to why I'd save you. You're one heck of a swordsman, your socery skills are second only to me, you fight like a demon, you're a great teamate and a valuable friend. You're probably one of the few people on this continent with a good head on your shoulders, not to mention you're knowledge of history and your ability to be a quickstudy. Not to mention the fact that you're probably the only rational person I can talk to, so..." Lina's voice trialed off, leaving her thought unfinished. "Anyway, that's why I saved you. So there."

Zel rolled his eyes. So he was useful to her. That was all. But the way her voice trailed off... He pushed the thoughts aside, knowing they wouldn't be true. He sighed and finally conceded defeat. "Fine, you win. I'm useful enough that you'd save me. I'll buy that."

"Then would you buy this?"

Both parties at the dinner table looked up in surpise. Zel didn't recognize the face but Lina sure did.

"Nee-chan? Luna what the hell're you doing here?" Lina's skin began to crawl as she wondered how long her sister had been there. Oh this was great. How could things possibly get worse.

"Zelgadiss-san, there's no need for the mask. Or the hood for the matter. Would you please take them off?" Lina sweatdropped as Zel stared at new arrival. Was she crazy? If he took off his mask then the entire tavern would leave!

Luna seemed to know what he was thinking because she replied, "You needn't be worried about them. This is a secluded corner remember? No one can see you. Now would one of you offer me a seat? I've been running after you all day."

Lina's chair broke as she fell to the floor. Nee-chan'd been following her? And she didn't know! Luna helped herself as she took a seat between her sister and the chimera. Lina quickly found another chair as she tried not to look as freaked out as she felt. Zel reluctanly pulled down his hood and mask, praying to the gods that no one would see him.

"So, what brings you here?" Lina asked in a failed atempt to sound cheerful.

"Well, it doesn't have to do with you, so you can take a deep breath now." Lina heaved a sigh of releief and then realized she did what Luna wanted her to. Cursing, she buried herself in her meal, hoping nothing else would go wrong. Luna turned to the swordsman. "I actually came here to help you."

"Me? Why?" Zel asked skeptically. "Lina wouldn't want to be within a hemisphere of you and even if she did, I'm sure the stories she tells of me aren't very fairy tale like."

Lina's new chair broke and she crashed on the floor again. "And just what to you mean by _that_?" she growled, ready to throw a fireball.

"Lina," Luna said.

Lina quickly sat down in a third chair and lowered her head. "Yes Nee-chan," she said quietly. Zel raised a stony eyebrow. What magic did she have over Lina to make her do that?

Luna smiled and looked back to Zel. "As I was saying. Your search is a very interesting story." Zel wasn't sure how to take that. "And I wanted to help you. So I want to give you this." Luna produced a small rolled up scroll. Zelgadiss took it and unwrapped it, skimming it's contents quickly.

"What?" Zel cried out as he read a certain passage. He stood up in haste and Lina looked up, wondering what he'd read. The chimera grabbed Luna and pulled her up out of her chair. That wasn't a good idea, knowing Luna.

"Where'd you get this?" he said threateningly.

"Would you believe me if I said I found it?"

"I wouldn't," chimed Lina.

"Why should I believe you?" Zelgadiss said.

"Because if this doesn't work, you may continue with your origninal plan." Luna said slyly.

"Plan? What plan?" Lina demanded.

"Sepuku of course." Luna replied.

"You mean that wasn't some accident and you really WERE trying to kill yourself?" Lina yelled.

Zel let go of Lina's sister and stared at the two of them. They actually looked a lot a like. They even acted similarly on certain counts. Was it possible to trust her?

Zel gave in. "Fine. I'll try it out. But if it doesn't work, forget it."

"Good. We have a deal. However, before we go, we HAVE to visit this hot spring near here."

* * *

Lina and Luna walked together as Zel trailed ahead, anxious to get wherever it was they were going. Lina kept glancing at her sister, wondering why she was doing this. Or why Lina had to suffer through this, for that matter. Luna caught one of the glances and Lina quickly looked forward, focusing instead on Zelgadiss.

"He's very handsome, isn't he?" Luna said quietly, also looking at the ivory clad man.

"You think so too?" Lina asked. Then she realized what she said and turned bright red. She coughed and looked away, adding. "Sure, but you try and tell him that!"

"Tell me what?" asked Zelgadiss as he slowed, letting the sisters catch up. Lina sweatdropped and stuttered. Luna came to the rescue.

"We were just wondering what had happened to Gourry and Amelia. They haven't shown up for a while."

"They're probably still at the inn, yelling at each other like an old married couple."

* * *

"Jerk!"

"Idiot!"

"Obsessive!"

"Stupid!"

"Anal retentive!"

"You know a phrase like that! I mean, dunce!" Amelia sighed. "Lina-san, what do you think? Huh!" Both Gourry and Amelia stared at the cardboard cutout of Lina on the chair. The two looked at each other, question marks sprouting form their heads.

"This is all your fault!" they said simultaneously.

* * *

Lina sighed contentedly as she leaned back. The hot spring was perfect for getting all the kinks out of her system. Of course she wouldn't have these kinks if Luna hadn't shown up. Why did Nee-chan have to be here? Lina could see no good reason for it. Just helping Zel wasn't enough. Luna wanted something to happen, but what was it? Some giggles brought Lina out of her thoughts as she looked over to a small group of old ladies making like a henhouse. Lina sighed. Apparently this hot spring was in a busy season. Everyone seemed to be here. The door opened and Luna came in. Lina sweatdropped. Of course her sister had to have a bigger chest size than her, and now everyone could see it. _Why me?_

Luna came over and sat next to Lina. All the people in the spring continued to chit chat. "Don't be so jealous," she said. "It doesn't become you." Lina facefaulted into the water and came up quickly.

"PLEASE don't do that in public, Nee-chan!" she half whispered half shouted. Luna simply smiled. Lina sighed and looked up to the sky. The stars were starting shining as the sun set in the horizan. It was very beautiful. Lina felt the tension seap out of her body and into the water. She didn't realize just how much she needed this. She looked over at Luna and saw she was chanting a spell.

"Nee-chan, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Everyone here is now oblivious to us."

"Why? What good'll that do?"

"It'll allow us to take a peak into the men's bath."

"WHAT?" Lina sweatdropped and resisted as much as she could as Luna pulled her up to the wall and forced her head over to see the other side. "Luna!"

"Lina, look," she said. She pointed to the pool. There were several young men and older men there. All chatting and relaxing. Silence soon spread through them, as the sliding door opened. All of the men starred at the new comer as he, with head down, entered the spring and went to a lonely corner. One by one, all the men there left, leaving the newcomer all by himself.

"That happens to him everywhere he goes," Luna explained. Lina stared at him. No wonder he was so lonely. No wonder he didn't trust anyone. No wonder for a lot of things.

"Poor Zelgadiss," she whispered.

"Lina, are you still staring?" Lina slid and fell onto the ground.

"Nee-chan!"

* * *

That morning Zel was staring at the small leaf of paper handed to him be Luna. The cure was possible, but he still wasn't sure whether or not to trust Luna. And this could be for someone else entirely.

The door opened and Lina waltzed in. The chimera quickly stuffed the paper in his pocket. Unfortunately, it didn't go unoticed.

"Was that the paper my sister gave you?" Reluctantly, Zel nodded. "Can I see it?"

"No," he said sternly.

Lina sat on the bed next to him. "Aw, come one, let me see it! Please?"

"No."

"Aw, Zelgadiss, don't be so stubborn!" Lina reached for Zel's pocket. Zel in turn grabbed her hand and pushed it away, only to grab Lina's other hand and do the same. The two soon were in a wrestling match on the bed; Lina trying to get the srcoll, Zel trying to push her away.

Of course this was the time Luna decided to come in. "It's time we got go--" Luna stared at the sweatdropping Lina and Zel, frozen in their tangle position on the sheets. Stray hairs started to pop out of their heads as the two turned bright red.

"Never mind," Luna said with a smile. "I'll wait downstairs."

"WAIT!" shouted Lina, running after her sister. "It isn't what it looks like!"  


Time well spent, ne? Come see the rest of it.


	2. Part Two

The day was uneventful. Lina was very quiet for some reason and Luna would appear and disappear. And Zel wasn't really in the mood for talk, assuming he ever was. They set up camp and Luna disappeared again. After dinner Lina fell fast asleep as Zel stared into the fire. This was his last chance. If it didn't work, he'd end it. He took out the paper and stared at it. It appeared authentic, but he'd come across some very clever fakes in his time. And he wasn't sure weather or not to trust Luna. Just because she was Lina's sister didn't mean anything. Zel knew full well how different relatives could be. Rezo being a prime example. The chimera looked up to the stars and cursed the old man for making him what he was. With these thoughts, Zelgadiss fell into a dark sleep.

The next morning, Luna was still missing. Zel rekindled the fire and started to set up breakfast, hoping he could get a small share before Lina woke up. While nibbling he permitted himself a small indulgence and turned to Lina, watching her sleep. The petite sorceress was sprawled on the ground, one arm under her head and the other stretched out. Her cape, serving as a blanket had now moved halfway down her slim body. In a moment of softness, her pulled the cape back up to her chin and gently moved some stray red strands of hair off her face. Lina snorted, then rolled to her side and fell back asleep.

Zelgadiss took his time to memorize her serene face as the rising sun glissened upon it, making it glow. It was a rare moment that she seemed perfeclty calm, and Zel wanted the vision fresh in his mind in case this cure didn't work. If it didn't, he vowed to end it, and he wanted something as beautiful as this in his mind when he entered the next life.

He snorted. "Assuming there is one."

"You are a very pessimistic man Zelgadiss."

Zel only barely kept from jumping out of his skin as he turned to face Luna. "Take one good look at me and tell me why I shouldn't be." He retorted.

Luna did so. The chimera suddenly felt awkward and focused on the fire.

"But why death if it doesn't work?" the sister inquired.

"Several reasons," her replied. "One. Who'd care if I was dead? Two. It would end the pain." He glanced at Lina. "Three. I would no longer be able to hurt the people I most care about."

Luna looked at him skeptically. "Do you have a heart?"

"No," he said flatly.

"Then how is it that you care about people?"

Luna got him on that one. Zelgadiss looked again to the serene Lina. "If I have a heart, it's a stone one. All I ever do is hurt them, and it's not like they care about me." Zel realized he was talking and not thinking and cursed inwardly for saying so much. What was it about Luna that made him talk like this?

"I think at least on of those people would disagree with you."

"Yeah? Who?"

As if on cue, Lina gave a great big yawn and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Man, that felt good!" she exclaimed. She looked at her two companions who seemed to be in a heavy discussion. "Did I miss much?" she asked.

* * *

Zelgadiss watched Lina lead the party down the lonely road. She seemed too cheerful in such an isolated and dark forest. Either that or after all these years he just could no longer see beauty when it was there. Everything depressed him. Lina skipped along like a child and stopped to pick up a flower. She handed it to Luna. It was almost like Lina was reliving some childhood memory. Then it came.

* * *

Lina handed the flower to Luna. For some reason, this place reminded her of the forests around her home. She would always pick flowers and give them to her sister back then. Lina glanced back at Zelgadiss. Much had changed since those carefree days. Zel grabbed for his sword, but it wasn't there, and Luna stayed back. There was a sound behind her. Lina slowly turned to see some great big blob thing right in front of her. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing, blocking a young maiden's way. Now beat it!" she ordered. The next thing Lina was aware of was being in the air with the blob's tentecles covering her mouth, hands and legs. Its slime was soaking through her clothes and her skin crawled. When she got out of this, she'd Fireball it to the sky! The tenticle around her mouth and throat tightened.

* * *

Zel cast a Ray Wing as soon as it grabbed Lina. He flew around it, staying out of reach of its tenticles. It definitely wasn't Mazoku, but it wasn't natrual either. It appeared to be some sort of chimera. Another freak like him. Just perfect. It must have escaped from a lab before any further procedures could be finished. It looked like all muscle with a few facial features swimming around the bulk of the body. Each limb had some sort of claw. It obviously didn't like anyone very much. Lina gasped. It appeared like the blob was trying to choke her.

"Flare Arrow!" Zel shouted. He aimed them for the tenticles holding Lina, but he made them weak. He could not help but feel some sort of sympathy for the beast. He flew under Lina as she fell, and caught her. She was slipperey. _The blob must secrete some sort of slime._ She coughed, trying to catch her breath. Zel spun in mid air and flew away from it. Suddenly, one of the limbs reached out slammed into his back. Caught off guard, Zelgadiss lost his concentration and fell down on top of Lina. What little breath she had just gotten back, he knocked out of her. Why did he always hurt everyone? He got up and faced the beast.

"Flare Lance!" Again, he made the spell weak, but not as much as the arrows. The blob screached in pain and slid down the hill. He turned back to Lina. She was coughing, but sitting up. Luna was beside her. Luna. Why hadn't she helped him? He grabbed her collar and pulled her up to his height.

"Why didn't you help me!" he shouted.

"Why did you weaken your spells?" she replied calmly.

"That was just an unfinished chimera. It probably escaped from a lab and doesn't trust people. After that display and the pain it felt, it will most likely avoid the roads in the future. It won't come after anyone again. But that doesn't answer my question. WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP YOUR OWN SISTER!"

"That was something you needed to do alone."

"I beg your pardon?" Luna made no response. Zelgadiss dropped her and started to walk down the road.

"Obviously, you haven't learned yet," Luna whispered. Lina stood up and leaned on her sister briefly.

"What did he need to learn?" Luna brought up a finger and winked.

"Now that is a secret," she said.

"Diem Wind!" Lina looked in surprise as Luna was blown off her feet by Zel. Granted, Lina wanted to do that for a long time to her sister, but now wasn't the time.

"Zel, what the hell are you doing!" Zel glowered at Luna.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again. Xellos is the bane of my existance. Any remebrance of him might push me too far. Do you understand?" Luna nodded, but Lina noted that it looked like she was pleased with herself. _What is she up to now?_

Luna stood up and dusted herself off. "Did you bring it?" she asked.

"Yes, Luna-sama." Lina and Zel turned in utter shock as Xelloss, of all people, appeared before them, a humble, even worried look covering his face. Zelgadiss readied a fireball, but Lina grabbed his hand, turning to the Mazoku.

" 'Sama?' Luna, what the hell's going on here?"

Luna merely smiled. "Did you bring it?" she repeated to Xelloss.

The priest pulled out a long covered item and showed it to Lina's sister.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Give it to it's new owner."

"Yes Luna-sama," he said quietly. He turned to Zelgadiss.

The chimera pulled free of Lina and let the fireball hover in his hands. "What are you giving me?" he demanded.

The Mazoku undid the tie to reveal a sword hilt. Zel looked at it skeptically, but finally let the fireball dissapate, accepting the gift. The priest then disappeared quickly, glad to be out of that sorceress'control.

Lina looked at Zel's new sword as she asked her sister, "Jeez, I knew you could handle people, but Xelloss? How good are you?"

Luna smiled. "You don't want to know."

* * *

"Hey lookie here!" said Bandit #1. The other two followed him to see a small group of three around a dwindling fire. Bandit #2 took out a small pouch.

"Let's make sure they stay asleep," he said. He took a fisful of powder and blowed it over the trio. When the powder hit the fire, the fire almost exploded in more light and stayed bright. The three seemed to stir, but fell back to sleep in seconds.

"I love that stuff!" exclaimed Bandit #3.

"Yeah, yeah, just start looting," said #1. He went over to the young man. By his side was a sword with a jeweled hilt. "Oh yes!" This would be worth a fortune to the right collector, if he ever grew tired and didn't want to keep it. Bandit #2 looked over a young woman.

"Hey! This lady is loaded with gold!" he shouted to the others.

"And this girl is too!" said #3. Bandit #1 went to take a look, kicking the man with his foot. The ivory hood fell back. He whistled.

"I think I found something much more valuable!" he said. The other two came over and fell back in horror.

"Isn't that a Mazoku?" #3 squealed.

"Nope," replied #1. "It's a chimera. I think I know a sourceror who's doing chimera research. He'd pay top dollar for a freak like this."

"Then lets tie it up!" #2 said, pulling out some rope. Bandit #1 sat the freak up and started to bound his hands.

"You won't be taking Zelgadiss anywhere!" someone shouted.

"Shut up #3," #1 said.

"But that wasn't me."

"Eh?" Bandit #1 looked up to see the little girl was standing in front of the fire. The woman was merely sitting up where she was originally sleeping. "But we gave you enough powder to sleep for a week!" he stammered. The girl looked at him demonically.

"I've been building an immunity to that for years! It'd take more than that to take out," she paused, running a hand through her wavy red hair, "The famous Lina Inverse!"

"The the the the the the Dra-Matter!" Bandit #2 squealed. Bandit #1 pulled the chimera closer to him.

"You wouldn't hurt your own friend," he said, pulling the heavy freak in front of him like a shield. He put a knife to the thing's throat.

"Oh please! He's a chimera; he'll survive." Bandit #1 paled. "Fireball!"

* * *

The next morning, a week later, Lina was counting her new found wealth. Luna was cooking breakfeast. Zelgadiss finally stirred. "Moring Zel!" Lina said cheerfully. Zelgadiss looked down at the fire. Something was bugging him. Lina put away the gold. "What's wrong?"

Zelgadiss looked at Lina. He didn't know whether to thank her or desert her. _Oh please! He's a chimera; he'll survive._ Her words haunted him. Did she really mean that? Did he matter so little that…But then why did she save him after the first attempt. He sighed.

"I . . . Thank you for saving me, Lina" he whispered. Lina looked at him in surprise.

"I thought you were asleep the whole time! You mean you were awake and you didn't save yourself!" She got a spell ready in her hand.

"On the contrary," he said. "I normally would be immune as you are to that powder, but there is a flaw in this chimera form that Rezo overlooked. I'm susseptable to that powder. I was barely able to stay awake, let alone fight back." Lina settled down as Luna passed out breakfast. Zelgadiss looked at Lina. _After that, she couldn't possibly care for me, could she?_

* * *

Zel generally avoided Lina for the next few days. They arrived a beach side town and registered at a first class inn at Luna's expense. Zel briefly wondered where the money was comming from but didn't really care. At dinner he watched Lina literally dig into her food. He himself took all of two bites before excusing himself from the table. Lina barely noticed.

Zel stepped out onto the beach, watching the sun sink slowly into the waves. He put his hand in his pocket, fingering the scroll Luna had given him carefully. Assuming that the cure really did work, would it really be worth it? He'd lost so much since being turned into a chimera, was there anything left of his life for him to salvage? He'd been so obssessed with the cure that he hadn't thought about that. He had family, but none that he wanted to be within a continent with. He thought that he'd had friends, but it looked like he was wrong in that department. Gourry was okay, but not much of a conversationalist. And the poor guy was lucky if her remembered his own name. Amelia was just plain weird. And Lina? Lina had let him down. Just when he was starting to think that there might be a chance...

Zel dropped down and kicked the legs of Luna out from under her.

"Ow!" she whined. "What was that for?"

"I want some privacy. Can't you or your sister respect that?"

Luna stood up and rubbed her sore behind. "Want and need are two different things," she replied.

"And what is it that you think I need?" he asked skeptically.

"What you need is to talk to Lina."

"She doesn't want to talk to me. I'm a freak remember? Just chimera. Besides, I'd only hurt her like I hurt everyone else."

The last rays of the sun disappeared behind the ocean as Luna sized up Zelgadiss.

"Prove it," she said.

"Pardon?"

"Prove it," she repeated. "Prove that Lina doesn't want to talk to you and prove that you'll hurt her."

"Why?"

"Because I positively love proving people wrong," She answered.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine." Zel turned around and entered the restaurant, making a beeline toward Lina's table. As he did so he started to wonder how he got talked into this. Luna seemed to have this ability to make him and Lina do as she wanted. _Oh well. Can't back out now,_ he thought glumly. The chimera sat down across from Lina and watched her guzzle down the quickly shrinking buffet before her.

"Lina, we need to talk," he started slowly.

"Mmmsguhphummm," she gulped, inhaling an entire chicken.

Zel sighed and continued. "Is just a chimera all you think of me?" he asked, being uncharacteristically blunt. Lina grabbed a pitcher and poured it into her mouth. She took a deep breath and shouted, "No! Why the hell would you ask something like that?"

Zel imitated Lina's voice, replying, " 'He's a chimera; he'll survive'."

"Now look, you were asleep at the time--"

"So you thought that since I couldn't hear you you could say what you really thought."

Lina slammed her fist onto the table, almost breaking it in half. "I HAD TO GET THEM TO LET YOU GO YOU, IDIOT! You can't take what I said that SERIOUSLY alright! Jeez, what am I suppose to say?"

Zelgadiss looked around. A few people were staring, but quickly going back to their meal, ignoring the noise. Making absolutely sure no one was looking, Zel pulled his wiry hair behind his ear, showing his full face to Lina. "I want you to say what you really think of me," he said in a low voice.

Lina, unphased by his face, scoffed. "We've been through this. I see a good swordsman, a sorcerer second only to me, an--"

"We have been through this. Don't tell me who I am. Tell me what you see."

Lina looked at him. "After that whole 'just a chimera' thing a few minutes ago? Now that I know what you want to hear don't you think I'm going to say it?"

Zel shook his head. "We're talking about you hear. I expect you to be one hundred percent truthfull. Just give it to me straight. Now no more stalling. When you look at me what do you see?"

Lina didn't need to look at him to tell him. She wondered if she should word it delecately, like before. She decided against it. He was expecting that cold truth and if he had the gaul to ask then he deserved it servered a little blunt. Lina took a deep breath.

"I see an over sensative guy who's so totally vain and obsessed about his chimera apperance that he doesn't realize how handsome he really is!" Lina looked away, crossing her arms. Did she really say that last part? She hoped not. "Does that answer your question?" she asked annoyed.

Zel looked down sullenly, his wire hair falling back into place. "Yes." He stood up slowly and went upstairs to his room. He was foolish to have hoped. He was stupid to actually believe. She had said everrything shy of 'I hate you'. She considered him valueably, but certainly not likable. How could he have been so stupid. Even if he did have a cure, there was no one to share it with.

No one.

He entered his room and cosed the door, taking off his cape and sitting on the bed before even acknowladging Luna's presence.

"What do you want?" he asked pleadingly, wanting desperately to be left alone in his grief.

"I told you so," she answered, with a grin on her face.

"No," he said flatly. "I told you so. She doesn't care about me and I did hurt her feelings."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "This I gotta hear."

Zelgadiss stood up. "She yelled at me, alright?" His voice started to raise, all his fustration suddenly aimed at Luna. "She told me point blank that I was vain, obsessive, ugly, you name it! She hates my guts. The only reason she keeps me around is because I'm valuable. She doesn't give a DAMN about me like you wanted me to believe. Now just _leave me alone_!"

Luna resisted the urge to facefault as Zel pushed her out of his room and slammed the door. _Hmmm,_ she thought to herself. _This calls for something less subtle. _ She went downstairs to find Lina already in the desert cart.

"Lina," she said. Lina looked up and saw Luna there. _Stay calm_. "Yes, Nee-chan?" she said. She slowed her eating.

"What did you say to Zelgadiss?" Lina sat back for a moment.

"I said . . . 'I see an over sensative guy who's so totally vain and obsessed about his chimera apperance that he doesn't realize how handsom he really is!' Why?" Lina took another forkful of pie.

"He believes you hate him, think he's ugly, and you only have him around because he's valuable." Lina stood up and chopped the table in half, making all the food go airborn.

"THAT INGRATE! I GO AND COMPLIMENT HIM AND HE TAKES IT PERSONALLY?" Before Lina could finish her tirade, Luna interupted.

"Lina," she whispered. Lina automatically fixed the table, pulling a rope from somewhere, tying it together, caught the food as it came down, replacing it to where it was, sat down in her seat, folded her hands across her lap and put her head down.

"Yes, Nee-chan."

"He thinks he hurt you." Lina's ears perked up. How did he manage that? He could _never_ hurt her. Luna must have read her mind. Again. "He thinks that as a chimera he can only hurt everyone. Any hope of a cure to his chimera form keeps getting blasted by fakes. He feels he has nothing left."

"Excuse me Nee-chan."

"Of course."

Lina went upstairs to Zelgadiss's room. If that was what he really thought, she needed to correct him. Even if he still wanted sepuku, he would at least know why she said what she said. She stood there for ten minutes trying to decide how to word this. Zelgadiss was obviously in sensative mode, so just being blunt wouldn't work. _Oh, hell. I might as well just get it over with._ She knocked on the door. She heard Zelgadiss, no matter how quietly, grab his new sword.

"Who is it?" he asked suspiciously.

_Won't he ever change?_ "It's me. Lina." She heard him put his sword down. He walked over to the door and opened it. "Thanks." She entered the room, bypassing the chair he offered her. She needed to stand for this. Zelgadiss sat on his bed.

"What do you want?" he asked sharply.

"I just want to talk."

"Why? I know how you feel about me."

"Eh?"

"Vain, obsessive, over-sensetive. Ring a bell?"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

"Oh really?" sarcasm dripped from his voice. Lina sighed. _Let's try the cliché approach._

"Don't let what other people see affect who you are on the inside."

"Oh please. How Amelia."

"WHAT?"

"Let me try to get this right. 'But Zelgadiss-san, you look so cool as a chimera! Don't let the evil of ignorance defeat your heart of justice!' Was that accurate enough?"

"Will you listen to me!" Lina took a deep breath. Cliché obviously wouldn't work, so she had to explain herself a little more thouroughly. "What do you think a girl wants from a man? Some cheesy pick-up line? No! A girl wants a man who is respectful. She wants someone who she can actually have a conversation with. You know, someone who has something to say. Someone with the intelligence for stimulating conversations. You fit all of that. You have given and deserve far more respect than most people I know. You're a good conversationalist when you actually open up, and you can provide much more stimulating conversation than Gourry. You're far more polite than even my own sister and that's saying something."

"I heard that Lina."

"Nee-chan!"

"Just keep me out of this."

"Oh all right! Now then, where was I? Oh yeah. Besides, the fact that you're a chimera makes you even more handsome."

"Oh this I gotta hear."

"Okay, suppose a man does have all those qualities but is so overbearing because he thinks he's the gods' gift to women. That is such a way to turn the girls away. The fact that you're a chimera gives you a shy and humble quality. It gives you everything any young girl could ever want in a man. At least any sane girl."

Zelgadiss could not believe his ears. His hearing must be wrong. Even though they were far more sensetive than most Mazoku, they had to be wrong. It sounded like Lina was describing the type of man she may want to settle down with, only it was him! The freak. The chimera. The thing. Could Luna actually have been right? Lina really did care for him? It was too much to hope for, but there it was. She laid all her cards on the table. Zelgadiss was speechless.

"Well," Lina said. She sounded like she was suddenly nervous. "I've said what I wanted to. I'll go now." Zelgadiss on instinct got up and opened the door for her. Luna was right there. Zel and Lina facefaulted.

"Nee-chan! That was PRIVATE!"

"I just wanted to inform Zelgadiss that tomorrow we'll have what he wanted."

"Which is?" Zelgadiss took out the paper he had been keeping from Lina. Lina stared at it. "This...this...the Prophet's Pages! Luna how?" Luna shook her head. Lina understood that she wouldn't explain. The Prophet's Pages was a book of individual prophecies, written down by a seer before her death. None of the prophecies were earth shattering, but those who were listed in it had major turning points in their lives by reading it. Lina looked at the paper. It had a list of people who were to be written about in the book. About halfway down the list she saw the thing that must have set Zelgadiss off when he first saw this. "The Chimera's Cure". That must be Zelgadiss. "Okay! Let's go."

"I can not accompany you the rest of the way."

"Eh? Why?"

"I will be gone when you get up tomorrow morning. Here is the map. I hope you find everything you're looking for."  


Just a little bit further...


	3. Part Three

Zelgadiss looked around the room. It was circular and large. A variety of weapons and tapestries adorned the wall. Despite the fact that the room had to be centuries old, all the weapons looked sharp and ready for action. It struck Zelgadiss as odd, but he continued in carefully. Lina followed. She stopped just outside some sort of spell circle. In the center was a book. Zelgadiss opened the cover and placed the paper Luna had given him over the pages. The paper undid all folds and reattached itself to the binding. It was authentic. So maybe Luna was a little trustworthy after all.

The paper, now part of the book, glowed. The light blinded him briefly. When his eyes cleared, he looked back at the page to see "The Chimera's Cure" was glowing. Some unseen wind blowed and the book lifted off the podium, flipping pages. As it settled back down, the pages stopped at about three quarters through. Zelgadiss read outloud. 

"The Chimera's Cure   
By reading this Script, Thou art thus bound   
To seek and to kill where love thou hast found.   
To no longer be that which thou hate,   
The one though must kill was chosen by fate.   
So Zelgadiss, to rid thee of thy curse,   
Thou must kill Lina Inverse."

"I must kill my love?" Zelgadiss whispered. "But I have no heart. Who would love. . ." He drew his sword.

"Zel?" Lina asked. He had been reading something, but she couldn't hear it as a wind picked up and the magic circle glowed. All she heard was that he had to kill the one person he loved. When he drew his sword she got worried. "Zel what are you doing?" The wind died, as did the lights. Zelgadiss took a slow step towards her.

"I don't--" he stammered. "B-b-blast Ash!" He threw the spell at Lina. She dived out of the way and rolled a little before standing up.

"ZEL!" she yelled. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I have no idea!" he yelled in reply before throwing a fireball directly at Lina. "Something's making me try to kill you!"

"Kill ME?" Lina dodged again and threw up a sheild as Zel released another spell to her. "Why? Unless--" Lina's voice trailed off. Kill the one he loved. Was that possible? Could he really?

"Lina, look out! Diem Wind!" Lina ran around the room. Zel stopped chanting and ran up to her, slashing his blade and cutting off her cape, missing her body by mere inches. The soceress pulled out her own short sword and parried the next attack. Zel in turn kicked her in the knee. She lost her balance and quickly rolled away before he struck again. Zel resumed spellcasting and threw one after another after Lina, whose only response was to keep moving. She didn't dare cast any spell on him; she didn't want to hurt him. But what could she do?

"Freeze Arrow!" Zelgadiss stood there, waiting for the arrow to strike until the last possible second.

"Damn," cursed Zelgadiss. He almost was hit, but his body moved at the last second. Everytime he tried to stop his movement, they would return slightly stronger. "Lina!" he called, getting an idea. He was a chimera, he should be able to withstand it. "You'll need to cast something a lot more powerful!" He brought his sword down on the petit young girl.

"Like what?" she retorted. "A Ra Tilt wouldn't affect your body! And anything higher would hurt you!"

"So try the physical equivalent!" Zel yelled as he cast a Burst Flare followed by an Emekia Lance. "Go for a Dragon Slave!"

"Are you serious! I'd kill you!"

"I'm a chimera, remember? My body should be able to take it."

"No way!"

"Lina, _please_."

"Dark Mist!" Zel was left in darkness as Lina jumped up to a small ledge to consider her options. His body was made of stone, and he could easily take normal spells. But could he withstand a Dragon Slave? That was pushing it. The mist disapated and Zelgadiss quickly caught sight of Lina. His control gone, his body completely took over. Any pauses flew out the window as Zel's body reacted at full power. Lina only barely kept alive by casting sheilds and minor offensive spell. She tried to cast a Recovery on Zel, but his body merely shurgged it off. She reluctanlty cast higher level spells, slowly rising the power level. But Zel's body was to fast. It either dodged them or threw a counter spell. Nothing Lina did seemed to stop him.

Lina shed a tear as she began chanting. "Darkness beyond twilight, Crimson beyond blood that flows..." The spell seemed to take forever to cast, the lines coming out sounded forced and slow. Her hand motions weren't fluid, but instead rather shaky as every fiber in her being told her not to cast this spell.

"DRAGON SLAVE!" The dark energy engulfed the room and Zel didn't have a chance. His body just stood there in frozen surpirse; like a deer caught in the headlights. A tear ran down his cheek as he mouthed the words 'thank you'.

The room exploded.

Lina couldn't watch. She didn't want to see her companion, her best friend, her... She didn't want to see him die. The room came crashing down on itself as Lina watched from her perch. The large pillars collapsed on themselves and the magical circle cracked, opening up to large wholes and canyons. Dust of the ages raised up to the air, clogging Lina's lungs and tearing her already blurred sight. Once everything settled Lina looked at her handywork. Only one though came to mind.

"ZELGADISS!" Lina cast a Ray Wing and flew above the wreckage, searching desperately for him, hoping to find at lead some trace of his corpse. She reached out with her sixth sense, hoping against hope to feel him somewhere amidst the carnage.

She did.

She dived down to the center of the wreckage and started digging. She pulled up rocks and boulders with unkown strength as she finally uncovered a body. Zelgadiss lay on his side, broken and bloody, his once ivory clothes torn to red shreds. His hair and face were streaked in blood and dirt. With utmost delicacy, Lina rolled him to his back, proppoing up his head so that his shallow raspy breathing would become easier.

"Oh, Zel," she whispered. "I am so sorry."

The chimera coughed. "'s alright."

"Zel! Oh, thank the gods!" Lina hugged him tightly. He in turn screamed in pain. The sorceress sweatdropped as she lay him back down, apologizing profusely. "Well," she said finally. "At least we broke the spell."

Zel frowned. "Not... really."

"Huh?"

"I can feel it... coming back... Lina...kill me."

"Are you delirious or something? After what I just did you want me to kill you?"

"If you...don't...I'll attack you again... I can't... stop it."

"Indeed you cannot." Zelgadiss and Lina looked to the book which was floating beside them.

"Chimera," the book said. "The spell was designed to free you from that form. All you had to do was kill one person, yet you resisted every stop of the way, making it impossilbe."

Lina looked at Zelgadiss in surprise. _That was while resisting? Would I have ever be a match if he actually tried?_ Zelgadiss wheezed.

"I would rather die," he coughed, "than hurt Lina like I always do." Lina looked at Zelgadiss. He really cared for her that much? "Besides, I wouldn't want to live like that. Knowing I killed Lina for such a selfish reason." Lina's eyes blurred. She was touched. He really was everything she described. "She doesn't need me to protect her. She already has someone."

Zelgadiss shut his eyes in pain. He knew that this was the right thing. If the gods let him die, everyone would be alright. He wouldn't suffer; he wouldn't hurt Lina, and that was all that really mattered.

"Who?" the book asked. "Fate decreed that you kill your love. But when you love, chimera, she loves back."

"And who would protect me?" Lina added.

"Gourry."

"And what did I say about intelligent conversation?" Lina asked quietly. Zelgadiss didn't say anything. He knew when he was beaten. He loved Lina and she apparently loved him as well. He took another labored breath, his chest screaming at him to stop.

"I love you, Lina," he whispered.

"I love you too, Zel," she replied.

"Chimera," the book said. "Would you rather be in this form and keep your love, losing what you have sought for so long, or would you rather let the spell continue and gain what you vowed to do anything for?"

"Let Lina live," he said simply. Nothing was worth that high a price.

"So be it."

The book glowed brightly, blinding the two new-found loves before it fell to the ground. Lina picked it up and flipped through the pages. They were all blank except for one passage:

"The Chimera's Cure, as with all lofty goals, comes with a cost. Often the price is high, and the choice is weather to pay or not. In the case of the lonely Chimera, the Cure's cost was too high to sacrifice his love. Life was more important than death, and love more important than vanity. The lesson was learned, the love was found, and the journey began again. The Chimera's Cure is out there, found among rolling hills and green valleys instead of dark toombs and empty books. And the first price of the Cure has been paid. He found his love and she him. Let us leave it at that."

"Well said," said Zelgadiss as he tried to sit up. The motion proved painfull, but he was able to manage it. Most of his wounds were superfucial, but they were too numerous for a Recovery. He'd have to wait.

"So what do we do now?" asked Lina as she started to bandage her partner.

"Well, a few months sleep sounds good for me about now. And you?"

"All things considered, I think I agree with you." Lina leaned down and kissed Zel on the cheek. "You go ahead. I'll finish bandaging you and catch up."

Zel returned the kiss and was asleep in seconds.

* * *

"Gourry-san! Why didn't you help me with Zelgadiss-san?"

"Why are you blaming me?"

"My my,"

"Xellos?"

"Xellos-san?"

"You two have certainly been busy haven't you?" Gourry and Amelia looked around. Earlier in their argument they had taken it to a physical level, if only briefly, and now they stood in the town center.

"What do you want?" Gourry asked.

"Well, I just thought you wanted to know, you two have been arguing for," Xellos looked pensive. "About a month straight." Gourry and Amelia facefaulted.

"A month?"

* * *

**The End**


End file.
